


Gathering in Circles

by ceciliamayden



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst and Humor, Australia, Boarding School, Elemental Magic, I don’t really know how to tag this, M/M, Slow Burn, The Sentry Stronghold, Weapons, ice hockey, it’s the school they go to, this is the first time I’ve done this send help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 13:06:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16577078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceciliamayden/pseuds/ceciliamayden
Summary: For an immense but otherwise unknown length of time, the Inter-dimensional Sentry Stronghold (known to outsiders as the Ignatius Dominic Stratford School) has been training young Australians to guard the country from various threats whose existences are unknown to the rest of the world.





	1. A Reunion With Heartfelt Insults

Nothing is really as one would expect it to be. Baz Snyder knew this full well. He was often left faced with the unexpected, but he didn't really mind. He philosophised that surprises supplied interest. 

A fair yet poor example would be his new room.

He stood in the middle of it, turning in a slow circle. Closing the door had been a good idea on his part, he was aware of how strange he probably looked. Definitely looked.

With white walls, brown carpet, a window, and no furniture save for a bed, a bedside table and a wardrobe, it was much emptier than he had anticipated.

 _Yes_ , he thought, grinning to himself, _I_ _can_ _make_ _this_ _work_.

"Because I'm marvellous," he said with a nod, then frowned at the fact that he said this out loud. Really, he should have been used to his own shenanigans by that point. After all, he had known himself his entire life. That's _generally_ how this kind of thing works.

Although the room held essentially nothing except space, it was space Baz was going to make his own. For the next six months, anyway. After that it was possible he’d be sharing with the members of his Team. This was the first room he'd had to himself, having been sharing all his life — after his sister at home it had been a random guy in his grade each year since he had arrived at the Inter-dimensional Sentry Stronghold.

Baz hauled his suitcase and couple of duffle bags (one grey, the other yellow) onto the bed with a grunt, then stretched out his back for a second. He unzipped the grey duffle bag, rummaging through the unorganised clutter until he found his docking station, which he hastened to plug into a powerpoint not far from the bedside table. As he was about to connect his pristine iPhone to it, a text message popped up with a loud ' _BA_ - _DA_ - _BING_ '. The phone fell from his hand, but he swiftly caught it with the other, inches before it hit the ground. He stood there for a second, frozen in position, feeling his heart hammer in his chest.

Knowing his, and the phone's, lives were safe, he let out a soft "phew" and checked the message.

 **KENZIE:** You here yet?

He grinned — he hadn't seen his best friend since they graduated from the high-school part of the Sentry Stronghold at the end of the previous year. Sure, they'd texted and he'd FaceTimed her the day of her eighteenth, but it wasn't the same as being face-to-face. His mind flew back to the heart-fleeting moments that succeeded the ceremony; the smiles plastered on his friends' faces, the knowledge that he wouldn't have to sit through maths ever again, the round of applause the audience gave them because 'we just officially survived high school, appreciate us, people! Hell yes, we deserve that clapping!'.

 **BAZ:** Yeah, you?

 **KENZIE:** Yup send me your room number

 **BAZ:** C2.20

 **KENZIE:** On my way

 **BAZ:** Cya soon

He connected his phone to the docking station, then returned to searching through the duffle bag. He pulled out a slightly crumpled calendar — an essential for plotting due dates. But before he could begin his search for some Blu Tack, he heard footsteps from behind. He spun around.

"Baz!" Kenzie cried cheerfully, opening the door and entering the room, pulling him into a tight hug, "I was so bored that I nearly fell into the spiral of looking at controversial YouTube comments to make myself want to punch something, again!"

"Well I'm glad you didn't, we both know that never ends well for the person on the other end of that screen. Good to see you, eighteen-year-old," he smiled widely and ruffled her hair, ecstatic to see his best friend again, "You got here quickly."

"I ran," she said, indeed sounding slightly out-of-breath. Pulling away and grinning, she placed her hands on her hips, "So how was France?"

"Er, Frenchy,” he supplied, chuckling when she narrowed her blue eyes into a glare. He recommenced his search for Blu Tack, "I've literally told you everything about it already, what other questions could you possibly have?" 

She walked over to the bed and chucked the yellow duffle bag further along the bed, making space for her to plonk herself down. He was glad he hadn't packed anything fragile in there. She flicked ginger hair over her shoulder and began to flick through the calendar Baz had yet to hang up. Her fingernails were painted black, contrasting dramatically with her Scottish complexion. 

"Are these... bears? On a calendar?" Her confusion mimicked his exactly when his mother had given it to him. 

" _Maman_ bought it for me," he explained.

She scrunched up her face, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with ' _why_ '?"

Chuckling, he replied, "Don't have a clue."

"Anyway, as I was going to say before we got distracted by interesting calendar choices," she shook her head, "I dunno, I kind of just said what I thought I was supposed to say."

"You're _bad_."

"Um, excuse me. What would you ask someone who has just come back from their annual trip to visit their family in France? There's not really much you haven't done over there."

He considered this for a second, "Touché, Kenz, touché,"

He made a triumphant 'aha!' noise as he pulled out a packet of Blu Tack, then snatched the calendar out of Kenzie's hands with a flourish.

She whined in protest, contorting her face into a pout, "I wanted to keep looking at the cute bears, Baz! I was only up to March!"

"Then it's a jolly good thing you have the rest of the year to look at the cute April bears," he replied, hammering his fist on the Blu Tack-ed areas to help them stick to the wall better, "Now on to a matter of higher importance; the Element Exam."

"Yes!" She gasped, "Any ideas which one will choose you?"

The Element Exam was something he — well, everyone — had been waiting for since they first arrived at the Sentry Stronghold in grade seven. When classes got too stressful, the idea of taking the Exam was one of the things that helped him push through. But now that it was only a few days away? He had no idea how to feel. Heck, it hadn't even really sunken in, yet.

"I don't have the foggiest idea, Kenz," he sighed, "I'm not sure if I even mind? I mean, I've imagined at least twenty different scenarios in which I could control at least one of them. That's twenty per element, by the way. And they were all pretty awesome." 

"Mm, I suppose it doesn't really matter, no. I do have to admit to doing about six online 'Which element would you be?' quizzes, though," she groaned, rubbing her eyes, "But what if we're not even chosen by any of them, Baz? What if we don't possess any of the qualities required? What if we can't become a Sentry? What if the past six years have been a waste and we have to get a normal job?" 

"Well that's not going to happen." 

"How can you be sure?" 

"Call it a hunch." 

"Mhm. And I _sooo_ trust your hunches."

"Hey!" 

"Are you trying to tell me you don't remember the Japanese Restaurant Incident of 2014?"

"That was _four_ years ago!"

"Whatever, Mr. 'Soy Sauce'," she yawned, ignoring his pout, "I'll let you get back to unpacking. See you at dinner?"

He nodded, then saluted to her as she moonwalked out of the room. He chuckled, walking over to his window. It overlooked one of the campus' grass areas, a space where Baz had spent many hours studying with his friends and relishing the sun. He sighed. This year, everything was going to change. Whether for better or for worse, he didn't know yet. But either way, there was nothing he could do about it. 

Switching on his music, Bublé's _Haven't_ _Met_ _You_ _Yet_ started to play as he continued his unpacking, but he found that he was focusing more on his thoughts than the song.

———

The common rooms were definitely some of the best places to be at the Sentry Stronghold. In summer the air conditioning could save a life, and in winter the heating was a taste of Heaven. The spacious areas had something for everyone; table tennis, the most comfortable chairs known to man, a pool table, a photo booth, a few televisions, a fridge, coffee tables for board games, and bean bags. There was one common room for each year level, but occasionally siblings from others came to visit — including Baz's older brother. They smelt of teenage sweat, good-natured rivalry, friendship, and pine Febreze. The combination formed the scent Baz had come to recognise as home. And he'd missed it over the holidays. 

"So, guys, how was your second day of college?" Kenzie, wiggling her eyebrows, asked before taking a chug from her can of lemonade. 

"Technically it was our first. Of classes, anyway," Marissa pointed out.

"Nobody cares, Marissa," Kenzie rolled her eyes. 

"It was good," Baz answered, "I'm glad that we're finally in courses that are actually relevant to our careers... For when we leave the Sentry Stronghold, that is."

No one liked to think about when they would leave the Stronghold, but they all knew it had to happen eventually. There would come a time when they were no longer in top physical condition, and at the Stronghold that was something that was of the utmost importance. Especially since, once graduating high school, your life quite literally depended on it.

"Mm, same here," Pete agreed, lounging in one of the beanbags and lazily twirling a pencil between his index and middle fingers. The four of them had been friends for a while — all throughout their time at the Stronghold, actually. They were close. Many hours they had spent together, whiling away the time with music, movies and gossiping about things their peers had posted on social media. Yet for some reason... Baz couldn't fight the feeling that something was different. They didn't have any courses together in this next stage of their life, was it possible that they were growing apart?

He opened his mouth to steer to conversation towards the upcoming Element Exam, before the door to the common room burst open, nearly granting him the pleasure of experiencing a heart attack firsthand. All heads turned towards the cause; a guy that had just stormed in, his face expressing disgust and annoyance.

Wasting no time, he loudly asked, "How do you say 'stuff you' in French?" 

"' _Va_ _te_ _faire_ _voir_ '!" Baz replied in an equally loud volume.

The guy looked over at him, "Thank you!", still not lowering his voice.

He immediately spun on his heels and thundered out, closing the door behind him with a slam. Everyone sat in stunned silence for a moment, but soon moved on and the quiet chatter recommenced. Really, this wasn't the weirdest thing that this common room had seen. Baz blinked, then burst out laughing, earning him a startled and relatively concerned look from his friends.

"Are you... Okay, there?" Marissa asked, nudging him with her foot from her position in the beanbag next to Pete.

He nodded, "It was... just... so random," he replied through his laughter.

"Well, Baz, I think that your nerves are making you delirious and you should go to bed early." Kenzie said, providing a very valid suggestion. 

He decided to take her advice.

But as he stood up to leave, she said, “Hang on, why did that phrase sound so familiar?” 

He glanced back at her, then glued his eyes to the floor as he made his quick escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re still here, I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy - I promise stuff starts actually happening soon.


	2. Stress = Arcade Games + Emo Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baz and Kenzie undertake the Element Exam, and Baz talks to a new person without being awkward about it. Can’t relate.

The dining hall was a strange place. Some areas had people shouting and laughing obnoxiously as they reunited with their friends, others had people who were deathly quiet as they resigned themselves to the fact that the holidays were over. Some areas smelt like pasta sauce and pizza, others smelt like stale cooking oil.

Baz sat at one of the tables, pushing his bacon and eggs around the plate with his fork and tapping his foot to the rhythm of a French song he couldn't get out of his head. _Alors On Danse_ , what a classic bop. Kenzie sat across from him, watching him with slight concern. She was nervous, too, it didn't take a psychic to know that. But at least she was eating her breakfast.

"Baz," she said, "We'll be fine. We both slept well last night, our heads are clear. Besides, remember what you told me a few days ago? It doesn't matter which one we get, and we _are_ going to get one."

He sighed, "I know, I know. It's just... I'm not sure if I actually want this Exam to happen or not. It's going to change everything, Kenzie. _Everything_. And I... I suppose I'd just gotten to used to this routine we had in high school, but now I'm going to have to readjust again, and probably without most of my friends."

"What do you mean 'without most of your friends'?" She frowned, "Just because we're not all on the same Team or in the same classes doesn't mean that we can't be friends anymore."

"I know that," he gave up on trying to eat, resting his knife and fork in the proper 'I'm finished' position, "But don't tell me you didn't notice something weird about Marissa and Pete last night. Something seemed off."

Kenzie rubbed one of her eyes, "I was hoping I'd just imagined that."

"Mm."

"Regardless of what Marissa and Pete want, you and I will always be friends, Baz."

He smiled at her, "Thanks, Kenzie." 

He glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall opposite him, which showed the time to be quarter to nine. This left them fifteen minutes to get to class. Then it was two hours until they had their Exam.

She followed his gaze, looking over her shoulder, "We'd best be off. See you in a couple of hours."

———

Two hours later, Baz pushed open the door to the Exam waiting room — which was really just an unused classroom — and welcomed the sudden burst of air conditioning on his face. In this heat, there was no way he was having lunch outside. Not that he was hungry; his nerves had practically swallowed his appetite easier than a great white shark would a trout. He inched into the room, softly closing the door behind him to avoid attracting attention. Quickly scanning the room, he saw that quite a few people were waiting, talking amongst themselves in not necessarily loud nor quiet chatter. 

He locked eyes on Kenzie, sitting cross-legged on a table, then made his way over to her, "Yo."

She looked up from her phone as he threw his bag down next to hers, "Heya,"

"Nervous?" He asked, rather unnecessarily. Everyone was nervous, Baz, you numbskull. Looking over at her phone screen, he saw she was playing _Pac_ - _Man_  — something she only ever did when she was worried. Although Marissa and Pete were probably starting to slip away _from_ him, he knew that he would never lose Kenzie. They'd been best friends for too long, they knew each other too well.

"No, Baz, I'm simply spiffing." She muttered, her Scottish accent leaking through the Australian one she'd gained over time. She risked a glance away from her current round to narrow her eyes at him. ' _What do you think, you idiot?_ ’ _,_ her expression clearly said. He sighed — he'd been trying for six years to find a way to distract her from whatever was making her nervous, but it had just resulted in him learning that it was best to just leave her to her arcade games. He raised an eyebrow as she closed _Pac_ - _Man_ and opened _Galaga_. That was new. Well, not really, but new for her. And she sucked, but he would never voice this opinion. Especially not at this moment. That would be a recipe for certain death. He'd rather pass on that, thanks. He decided to choose living.  

Baz took a moment to see who else was in the room. Most of them he had never seen before, but he recognised some of them; Vasili (ew) from his Year 10 maths class to say the least, Amy from his Year 8 English class, Ivanna from his Years 11 and 12 chemistry classes... And the same dude that had barged into the common room and shouted/asked 'How do you say "stuff you" in French?'. Baz was also 97.22% certain that they were in the same music course this year, which is, y'know, fairly certain.

The guy was leaning against one of the walls by himself, earphones in and surveying the room, occasionally looking down to check his phone. He was still wearing a similar expression on his face to the annoyed one the day before, although this time Baz detected hints of something else. The guy was tapping his fingers on his thigh, either to the beat of the song playing or to something completely imaginary. Maybe there wasn't even a song playing at all. He could've just been eavesdropping on the conversations around them. The earphones could've been a ruse. Baz didn't know, he had no insight into this guy's mindset.

Despite this, he got the general vibe that this guy didn't necessarily have many friends. Baz was determined to change this.

"Hey Kenz," he poked her in the shoulder, which was met with an irritated grumble, "I'm going to talk to this guy over here, see you soon."

"See ya," she replied, then hissed in frustration. It was safe to assume she just died again. He decided to scramble away before she blamed it on him in some way.

He crossed the room, weaving through desks, noting the other guy's raised eyebrow when he noticed him approaching. Baz leant against the wall next to him, catching a brief glimpse of what song was playing on his phone — something by Metallica. Baz, to be honest, wasn't really that surprised. So turns out he _was_ actually listening to music and _not_ eavesdropping. Fair enough.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," the guy responded, sounding slightly confused and somewhat wary. His hair was dark brown and messily wavy, and there was a small, diagonal scar over his left eyebrow. Dark circles sat under eyes that contained scattered flecks of gold. The colour of his irises reminded Baz of the periwinkle flowers that grew in abundance in his family's backyard. At first glance they would seem normal, though slightly fierce. However when one looked closer, they would see the reflection of an innocent yet guarded boy — much akin to that of a haunted soldier. Freckles were dusted all over his fair skin, but particularly across his nose. Okay, Baz was starting to feel a tad creepy, now.

"I think we're in the same music course?" He asked, then started to question himself; where was this conversation was going to go, and why did he lead with that? Then again, he supposed it could've been worse, like ' _hey_ , _whaddup_ , _who_ _ticked_ _you_ _off_?'.

He nodded _,_ taking out an earphone, "Yeah, I think so. You're also the guy that told me how to say 'stuff you' in French, right?"

"Yep, that was me," Baz grinned and tilted his head slightly to the side, "Still remember what it was?"

"Of course. ' _Va_ _te_ _faire_ voir', it's forever embedded in my brain, now." He tapped his head, and the two of them chuckled, looking down at the ground. He resumed his tapping — which Baz now interpreted to be an anxious habit — and looked back at his phone screen, skipping the current song to something by Fall Out Boy. They were the actions of someone who assumed he was about to leave. Baz had no such intentions.

"I'm Baz, by the way," he said as he held out his hand, "And you're...?"

The guy looked up sharply, chapped lips parting slightly in surprise. He looked down at Baz's hand, then back up at his face. The initial shock diminished and was instead replaced with a small, warm smile as he took out his other earphone, slipping them along with his phone into his pocket.

"Teddy," he replied, the corner of his mouth kind of twitching up, and they shook hands.

"So how are you feeling?" Baz asked, looking away to skim his eyes over everyone else in the room. Kenzie was as he'd left her, save for the look of unadulterated hatred on her face as she furiously tapped her thumbs on her phone screen. He hoped people had the sense not to interrupt her. Numerous people found her terrifying at times, but he was immune. He certainly hadn't been at first, though. Oh, no. Definitely not. God.

He sensed more than saw Teddy's eyebrows rise, "Er..." He began uncertainly, and Baz looked back at him, "Fine?"

"Mhm," he glanced down at Teddy's hand, which had seemed to have increased the speed at which it tapped instead of ceasing. Teddy followed his gaze, then quickly crossed his arms as they looked back up at each other.

"I'm not nervous, or anything," he insisted, "I'm fine."

Baz nodded, momentarily dropping his gaze in defeat. He'd only just met the guy — he couldn't read his mind and he didn't have the right to tell him how to feel. He wasn't going to push it. Pushing people subsequently pushes them away. And it wasn't that Baz was few on friends, he was friends with almost everybody, but he that also meant that the number of close friends he had was limited.

After a brief silence, he asked, "So what are you studying?"

"Literature and writing," he replied, "Music is an elective. You?"

"Yeah, me too, except my majors are law and criminology."

"Neat," Teddy nodded, shifting his weight. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but before he had the chance the door to the room opened. All heads turned in its direction, silence suddenly falling faster than a python's strike. A tall woman with a stern expression strode inside, holding the door open with her hand. She looked like the kind of person who didn't have much of a life outside of work. Her iron gaze seemed to reach out and snatch Baz's terrified breath from him.

"Follow me."


	3. A Hatred for Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This exam will consist of two sections; the physical, and the mental," the same voice explained, "First you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your combat skills. If you have any questions, do not ask them."

Emotions were a strange thing. In fact, a 'rollercoaster' wasn't exactly the most accurate way to describe them. Perhaps a 'circle', or a 'cycle', would seem more fitting. The past six years he had been filled with excitement — he was going to be a Sentry. The past few days he had been consumed with nerves — _he was going to be a Sentry_. Yet, somehow, as he walked down corridors and listened to the heavy footsteps of the other students in front and behind him, he felt the excitement bubbling in his chest again. _He was going to be a Sentry_!

They marched through the college campus of the school in single file; Teddy walked in front of him, Kenzie behind. The teacher or professor — at least that's what Baz assumed she was — lead the line in silence. She gave no indication of where they were going or what the Exam was going to be like. His heart hammered in his chest and he felt a smile tugging at his lips. It felt like something out of a movie; the discretion, the adrenaline, the anticipation.

The group turned another corner and the woman stopped abruptly, catching everyone by surprise. Having been semi-lost in his own thoughts, this halt nearly sent him walking into the back of Teddy. That would have been awkward (yikes). That didn't stop Kenzie from running into the back of _him_ , though, which earned a guest appearance from his best "done" facial expression. It wasn't as if she could see it, but it made him feel better at least.

Spinning on her heels to face them, the woman ordered in a booming voice, "Find your door and enter."

Confused, Baz frowned, until he glanced at the door directly to his left and saw it had someone's name on an electronic screen adjacent to it. Everyone began to walk about, trying to find theirs. After a few seconds with no luck, he noticed that they were in alphabetical order, so he crossed over to the other end of the hallway where Kenzie was standing. The two of them were normally next to each other, being Snyder and Smythe. In fact, that was how they became friends in the first place. In Year 7 they had been in the same English, maths, science, humanities and combat class. When their teacher had called out their names on the first day, they had locked eyes and nodded. The look they had exchanged in that moment was one that said 'Yes, we are now best friends'. Baz was so glad that she hadn't turned out to be an asshole, because that was always a possibility with random people you'd only just met.

He stopped at the door to her right, and saw that it indeed was the correct one. He grinned mischievously at Kenzie, "Hey Kenz, this one has my name on it,"

"That wasn't even good," she said, her face scrunched up.

He glanced behind him. Most of the other students had already disappeared through their respective doors, Teddy included. "I'd say we can go in,"

"Let's do it," she replied, "Good luck, BS."

He rolled his eyes at the nickname, "You too, Smithsonian." They exchanged an encouraging smile, then turned away and pushed open their doors. It was heavier than he had anticipated, and he was immediately greeted with light so bright he was reminded that sunglasses were a thing and should have been provided to them for free. He stepped inside, closing the door and blinking furiously. His eyes danced about, trying desperately to adjust and see where he was.

Eventually he saw that where he was was exceedingly boring. The room was entirely white, and entirely empty except for him, a camera on one of the walls and a speaker on the roof. Slightly confused, he walked further into the centre, head looking all around him.

"State your full name and fate of birth," commanded a male's voice, and Baz's head snapped to the speaker above him, startled.

"Er, Balthazar Louis Alexandre Snyder, and I was born on the twenty-second of May in 2000." He replied, trying to prevent his confusion and concern from leaking into his voice. It always felt weird when he said his full name out loud - he always said most of it in his regular Australian accent, except for 'Louis Alexandre', which he pronounced the French way. _Franglais_ , his mother called it.

There were a few seconds of silence, which he assumed was for them to check he had given the correct details. He had a brief moment of panic where he wondered if he'd gotten his birthday wrong, or something. It wouldn't have been the first time.

"This exam will consist of two sections; the physical, and the mental," the same voice explained, "First you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your combat skills. If you have any questions, do not ask them."

He pulled a face at this last statement. Well, he supposed it made sense. Kind of. He assumed it was about trusting his instincts, but he usually learned that his instincts were wrong. Very wrong. Thank you for the vote of confidence, Mackenzie.

The process of becoming a Sentry was relatively straightforward. After six years of attending the Inter-dimensional Sentry Stronghold — in which students are trained in not only normal subjects, but also combat, first aid, and creature recognition — they undergo the Element Exam. Once they emerge from the Exam with their element, they're assigned to a Team, which they train with further for a few weeks. Except, now they are allowed to enter the Expanse — a series of other dimensions that contain perilous creatures threatening to escape to _this_ dimension. It's the Sentries' job to prevent this from happening.

The one thing that had always confused Baz was that the Stronghold higher-ups don't choose the elements — the elements are already contained within, based off of the person's personality. This enables them to control their element, kind of like a superpower. Or a bender from _Avatar_. Most people assumed that the only four elements were Water, Fire, Earth and Air, but there were actually two others; Darkness and Mind. Anyway, why was it necessary to have a huge "Exam" to awaken the element

Now however, he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question. It wasn't just about awakening their element - it was also about ensuring they were both physically and mentally capable of surviving the Expanse.

"Phase One will commence after you retrieve your weapon of choice."

He turned to his right. The wall was opening using some sort of strange mechanics and revealing an array of weapons arranged on a series of shelves. He hid his surprise as he crossed over to it, and began to inspect his options. There were swords, bows and arrows, axes, spears... Basically everything. He found himself drifting towards the kunai and shuriken — his long time favourites. They were the more unreliable of the bunch, but he hadn't spent years practicing his aim for nothing.

Gingerly, he lifted them from the shelves and packed them into the couple of holsters that he had also retrieved, strapping them around his leg and waist. No sooner had he done this then the arrangement retreated back into the walls. He flinched in surprise, but then looked to his left and realised that being momentarily startled was the least of his worries.

The wall now opposite the entrance was also opening, although instead of revealing an arrangement of weapons it revealed a dark tunnel. Dark enough to hide its contents, which could very well be the road to Hades for all he knew. He expected it was soon going to spew out an arrangement of things to use his weapons against. He was really starting to hate walls.

He drew two kunai from the holster strapped to his leg, gripping them tightly in each hand. One of the perks of being ambidextrous was that he could throw two in quick succession, but if he were to do that then it would leave less time for making distance calculations and aiming. Not like he had much of that anyway. Go big or go home.

He desperately hoped that the creatures he was about to face were the mindless type. They didn't strategise. Hit them anywhere enough times and they'll fall faster than Ke$ha can yell "timber!". On the other hand, there were _some_ creatures that had brains very similar to humans, and sometimes even the appearance, too. They were a lot more work. He hated work. And walls.

There was movement from the tunnel, and his heart reacted like he had just chugged a bottle of Gatorade. He was suddenly glad for his gloves — his hands were beginning to sweat so much he was sure he would've dropped the throwing knives otherwise. A shape lumbered out of the shadows and immediately leapt into flight, swiftly followed by another of its kind.

Having the heads of women and the bodies of birds, he immediately identified them as harpies. Their faces were pale and sunken, and their huge eyes were bloodshot with sleep deprivation. Long claws grew from their mottled and wrinkled hands. He felt rather sorry for them, really. They weren't much of a threat. They only wanted to steal his food rather than _use_ him for food. What hipsters. Not that he was complaining. Still, that wouldn't stop them from putting their claws to good use if they felt the need to.

Apparently they did. _Damnit_ , _harpies_.

As they dived towards him, he swiftly brought the first kunai above his head and threw it at the closest one. She immediately plummeted towards the ground and disintegrated into grey dust. Before the other one realised what had happened, she too had been hit with the other kunai, suffering the same fate as her kinswoman.

He hurried over to the two piles of dust and knelt down to pick up the kunai. His head perked up. He had heard movement behind him. He spun around, still kneeling, as he threw one of the knives like it was a frisbee. A very sharp and pointy frisbee, but a frisbee nonetheless. Surprisingly, it actually made impact.

There was only enough time for him to identify the victim as a satori before it disintegrated. Three cheers for the surprise, seeing as satori are Japanese monkeys who read minds. Score eight on the difficulty scale. Every move had to be unpredictable and completely spontaneous. Kenzie, Pete and Marissa would claim he didn't do much thinking anyway, which he found rather rude.

Baz clambered to his feet, then stood for a moment. Just listening. The creatures he was to face had the advantage of sight, whereas he would only know they were coming if he could hear them. Everything was silent. Hesitantly, he tiptoed his way over to the entrance of the tunnel. He bent over to pick up the kunai. Rookie mistake. Before he had the chance something had jumped on top of him with a harsh growl.

He yelped, his other kunai dropping out of his hand. A huge, black head loomed inches from his face. Its mouth gaped open, showing saliva dripping heavily from yellow-stained fangs. He shot his hands up, attempting to push away the animal's head.

 _A hellhound_ , he realised as he spotted its crimson eyes, _That's... great?_

The thing snarled again. Baz emitted a high-pitch scream. He took one hand away from the hellhound's face and reached into his holster. He hurriedly pulled out another kunai, stabbing the oversized dog in the stomach. It howled in pain, gnashing it's jaws with ardent loathing. He stabbed it with another kunai. It gave a final howl as he pushed it off from on top of him and rolled away from it. The next time he looked over, it was nothing more than ash.

He stood up, but slipped in a pile of hellhound saliva, landing flat on his stomach.

“Gross,” he whimpered. Movement caught his eye, and he looked up to see a manticore making its way out from the tunnel. The half-man, half-lion had poisonous spines along its tail, which danced behind it as it prowled forwards. It grinned at him, which was actually rather alarming. It had a man's face but with three rows of teeth, and that was _not_ normal.

Baz groaned, hitting his forehead lightly on the floor, "A freaking manticore‽" He shouted, hoping the people assessing him had the microphones turned up full blast. That was until he remembered that he had screamed not that long ago. He could imagine their snide faces as they laughed at his pitiful actions, or even worse — shaking their heads in disappointment as they marked a huge '0' in the fearlessness column.

He jumped to his feet, and began walking backwards. Reaching into the holster around his waist, he drew four shuriken. With a flick of his wrists, they fanned out in his hands.

He didn't wait for the Persian lion-dude to make the first move. He raised his arms then snapped them out, one after the other, letting the throwing stars leave his hands and spin towards the creature. The first one hit its side, but it stepped aside to avoid the other. It roared in pain, whipping its tail forward and sending an army of spikes flying in his direction.

Baz dived to the side, and a thought suddenly occurred to him, _Why on Earth doesn't anyone at this school fight with a shield?_ He kind of wished he had one on him as he jumped to the side again to avoid another spike attack. He threw another ninja star. It made impact with the manticore's tail, and the snarl it gave him worked perfectly well in conveying the message that it hurt like hell. Before it could attack again, it crumpled to the ground in pain. He threw one last star at its head, and it instantly turned to grey dust.

He wiped his forehead with his arm, breathing heavily. His shirt was stuck to his back, but he knew there was no point in doing anything about it. There were only more coming up ahead.

Not taking his eyes away from the opening in the wall, he edged forwards and gathered the throwing knives and stars that were lying on the ground. He kept one of the kunai in his hand as he inched backwards again, waiting for his next opponent to show themselves.

It wasn't what he expected, to say the least.

The next creature to emerge from the darkness was human. Or at least, she looked human. Baz knew full well that she was not. The human-like ones were always the most difficult to identify. So this was just great.

Her gait was regal, and she had her arms behind her back. A sly smile formed from blood-red lips, and malice twinkled in pitch black eyes that matched the colour of her skin. It would have made the whites of her eyes seem out of place had they not been more bloodshot than the harpies'. Her pure white hair streamed down at her sides, billowing slightly in an imaginary wind along with her grey cloak. He recognised this description, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was.

They stood there, neither of them making a single move.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she began, her voice hoarse, "And it will be an even greater pleasure to make you as miserable as I am."

He blinked, "But you're smiling..." He said slowly.

"Oh, but it's the most broken people who try to hide their pain," she lifted her chin, "That and I'm just really looking forward to causing you pain."

He rolled his eyes. To think she had started that phrase with something philosophical, then she had to ruin it with a comment about his death. He raised his hand to throw his kunai at her, but before he could do so her arms shot out to the side and she screamed. Relatable, no?

It was like someone had triple-clicked the home button on their phone and activated 'invert colours'. Her skin was now as white as a sheet of paper, and the pupils of her eyes disappeared. Her hair — which streamed around her hair as if she was floating in water — was blacker than a phone screen. A very poetic comparison, he thought.

Baz was thrown backwards as the energy of her scream hit like she'd tossed a bunch of filing cabinets at him. He landed on his back with an " _oof_!", momentarily winded. He cursed under his breath. His knife had been knocked from his hand again. His ears rang.

She was a banshee. A _banshee_. He took back his exclamation about the manticore - these wailing, death-harbingers were a whole bucketload of worse. Out of all the Irish folklore creatures, he just _had_ to get a freaking banshee. Why couldn't it have been a leprechaun? Sure, they're _annoying_ , but they don't _scream_.

As he got to his feet he frantically searched his mind for what could kill a banshee... Iron! They had a very strong aversion to iron! Knowing he had kunai and shuriken made of said metal, that eliminated one issue. The other problem he faced was that if he threw something at her, she could just... well, scream it away.

Suddenly his ears were succumbed to more pain as she screamed again, the force of which threw him into the air and slammed him into the wall behind him. He fell to the floor, groaning. He really hated walls.

Looking up, he saw she was about to scream again. He didn't know what to do, and he really didn't fancy another blast. He put his hands out, as if it would somehow help. He screwed his face up as the sound reached his ears... But he felt no impact of the energy burst. Opening one eye, he saw some sort of... _thing_ shooting from his hands, countering the banshee's shriek. It was like a continuous burst of wind - barely visible. His mouth hung open as they both ceased fire. The banshee's eyes were murderous.

 _Air_ , he realised, _I just controlled air..._

Sure enough, when he looked at his wrists, a small, silver tattoo had formed. It was a triangle with sides about a centimetre long, and it had a horizontal line through the top that left a few millimetres of space between it and the apex. It was the symbol of Air.

Excitement bubbled inside him, and he had to contain his laughter. He'd finally done it! His element had finally been awoken! He knew that the first thing he was doing when he got back to his room was to do one of those 'What element are you?' quizzes Kenzie was talking about so he could laugh at them when they were wrong. Because priorities. Truthfully, he had no idea what to think.

He stood up and curled his gloved hands into fists. Glancing down, he found a kunai engraved with an 'I', meaning it was made of iron. The other ones he had been using had either been made from silver or bronze.

He blinked and the banshee was directly in front of him. She grabbed his face and he flinched, trying to lean back to get as far away from her as he could. She looked into his eyes, glaring. She had returned to as she had initially appeared, the colourlessness of her irises now even more unsettling up close.

"The darkness," she hissed, and for an unnerving moment Baz thought she had heard his thoughts, "Don't let the darkness consume them, Mr. Snyder. Not if you want them to live."

Her eyes widened, and she collapsed to the ground, one of his iron knives sticking out from her stomach. She disintegrated just as she hit the ground.

Baz stared at the pile of grey dust in front of him, slightly terrified. That thing had been in his head — it knew his name, and it had just foretold the death of someone he loved. Possibly multiple people, considering she used 'they'. But who could she possibly be talking about? What darkness?

He had so many questions.


	4. Tattoos Are College Culture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title pretty much says it all.

The voice from the speaker caused him to jump, "Balthazar Snyder, your Exam is complete."

Bas breathed a sigh of relief. His hands were shaking, and he wanted nothing more than to lie down and forget what the banshee had just said. Then he frowned — did the dude just say that his Exam was complete?

"I thought there were two sections?" He asked, directing this to one of the cameras. Honestly, he didn't really care that they had told him not to ask questions. He was gonna ask 'em anyway.

"The second section was undertaken without your knowledge at the same time as the first," the voice explained, still monotonous, "Your mental capabilities were assessed to ensure you would survive the trips to and from the Expanse."

"Oh. Sweet." He nearly slapped himself — ' _sweet_ '? He wasn't supposed to say that in front of authority figures! For whatever reason, they didn't really appreciate the language of the modern-day youth. Crazy, no?

"You have passed your Exam. Place your weapons on the floor, and you may leave. Whether you choose to return to your normal courses or to rest is up to you."

He unstrapped the holsters, placing them on the ground with care. He looked around at the numerous piles of dust scattered throughout the room. The fact that he was now a Sentry still hadn't sunk in — all the years of hard work he'd put in had finally paid off.

Grinning to himself, he strode across the door and exited without looking back.

Once he was back in the hallway, he saw a few students standing around and talking animatedly. There was no sign of Kenzie, but when he looked back at the direction the group had initially come from he saw Teddy leaning against a wall. Baz stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way over, the other boy giving him a small wave when he saw him.

"Hi," Baz smiled.

"Hi," Teddy replied, though without as much confusion as last time.

"How did you go?" In response, he took off his watch and held out his wrist. There was a tattoo of a red triangle, the same size as Baz's. It was the symbol of Fire.

He thought that this made sense. It matched the fierce aura that surrounded him. This fierceness kind of reminded him of Kenzie, except that they were also completely different. He just couldn't exactly think of a way to describe it... Maybe it was something like Kenzie was fierce due to injustice, whereas Teddy was fierce due to something else?

Fire had always amazed Baz, but he had never really thought about why. He supposed it was a mixture of things. The way the embers and sparks danced. The way the colours gradually changed from warm to hot, but it was the cooler colours that produced the most heat. The way it can light the way through the dark. The way something so beautiful could be capable of so much destruction. The way it was easily doused, but sometimes it found an environment that kept it alive. He remembered whenever his family went camping his parents had to keep telling him to move his chair back from the campfire. Knowing that it was dangerous didn't dim his admiration.

He held his wrist out, too, showing his tattoo of the Air symbol.

"Heh, yours looks cooler," Teddy said.

"No, yours stands out better," Baz shook his head, "But hey, we both passed. After so many years, we're finally going to be Sentries."

"Yeah," he smiled, then looked down to put his watch back on, "That is pretty neat."

Baz was suddenly reminded of something that was pretty not neat — the banshee's warning. He had hoped to banish (or bansheeish) it from his mind, but that was evidently going to be a lot more difficult than he'd initially thought. What did it even mean? Banshees weren't known for being specific, which was rather rude. You could hear one outside your house and think 'lol, probably not for me' and then walk outside to find yourself having a rock dropped on your head. Of course, it was always possible that she had been instructed to say that to freak him out... Maybe.

"Baz? Are you okay?" He looked up — he hadn't realised how he had zoned out. Teddy was staring at him with concern, evidently having noticed his frown and the way his eyes had suddenly dropped to the ground.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, "So uh... Quick question... Did you have to fight a banshee?"

Teddy raised his eyebrows, "A banshee? No, those things can mess with your head. I did fight a very angry sylph, though."

"Ah, okay..." He nodded. Teddy was right, they were probably just messing with his head. While some banshees were helpful, that one was definitely not. After all, she had talked about causing him pain. Maybe after she saw he had a way to protect himself from the power of her shrieks, she decided to attack through the power of mind games.

"Baz!" He turned around to see Kenzie jogging towards them, her smile the widest he'd seen her wear in a while. She'd pulled her hair into what probably used to be a tight ponytail, but strands were hanging out all over the place as a result of the Exam.

"Kenzie!"

"We did it!" She exclaimed, her accent back to normal, and he ruffled her already dishevelled hair as she crashed into him with a hug. He glanced over at Teddy, who was looking back and forth between them and shifting his feet awkwardly.

"Kenz, this is Teddy. Teddy, this is my best friend Kenzie."

"Heya, Teddy," Kenzie said.

"Hey, Kenzie," he replied.

"Wait, aren't you the guy that stormed into the common room and asked how to say 'stuff you' in French?"

He hung his head, "Is this _really_ who I'm going to be known as?"

She laughed, giving his shoulder a friendly punch, "Of course! Who do you think we are? We're not letting you live this down. _Ever_."

He groaned and looked over at Baz, his expression pleading.

"She's right, sorry dude," Baz smirked, "And hey, speaking of the 'stuff you' incident, what was that even about?"

"Someone stole my pacer and refused to give it back," he replied bitterly, squinting slightly at no one in particular. The other two were silent, neither of them entirely sure how to react to this. He looked pretty serious about it.

"Um. That's... er, cruel of them." Baz chose his words carefully. Teddy nodded.

"Oh!" Kenzie exclaimed, her eyes wide. The two guys looked her with slight concern at her sudden outburst, "I forgot to ask, what did you guys get? Show me your wrists!"

After a grumble from Teddy about just putting his watch back on, the three of them held out their wrists. Baz recognised Kenzie's to be the symbol of Earth. It was exactly like his, except green and flipped upside down. He couldn't believe neither of them had figured it out sooner, it seemed so obvious; she had always been quite grounded while he always had his head in the clouds. The logical versus the dreamer. It was how they had initially gotten along so well. While she forced him to focus on schoolwork, he showed her how to see life from a different and more imaginative perspective.

"Now the next thing to worry about will be our Team," Teddy said as he slipped his watch onto the opposite wrist. Baz thought this was probably a smart idea, considering the amount of times he'd had to take it on and off.

"I don't know," he replied, earning a couple of raised eyebrows, "I have a good feeling about it."

Kenzie frowned, "Remember what I said about not trusting your instincts? Yeah, that still stands. Anyway, let's head over to the common room because I am _so_ exhausted right now. Unless you want to go back to class, that is. In which case y'all would be weirdos."

"There's no way I'm going back to class after that," Baz shivered, "Will you join us, Teddy?"

He looked hesitant, "Oh, I don't know..."

"Please?"

"We're not taking no for an answer," Kenzie pointed out, shrugging as if to say 'sorry, we don't make the rules'. There it was again — that look of slight confusion and astonishment on Teddy's face. It was like he couldn't believe that they were talking to him, and being genuinely friendly, and asking him to hang out with him. As for why, it was a mystery to Baz, and he hoped that some day he would figure it out.

Teddy's small smile returned, "Well, I suppose I don't have much else to be doing."

"Great!" Baz grinned, then flinched when his phone began to buzz in one of the pockets of his shorts, "Hold on, it's my brother, he'll get annoyed if I don't take this."

"Um, no he won't, he doesn't get annoyed." Kenzie said, pulling a face.

"No, he just gets _disappointed_ ," Baz agreed, pulling the same face.

"I know someone like that," Teddy nodded in solemn solidarity.

"Tell him I said 'hi'," Kenzie said, and received a quick nod in response as Baz answered the phone, putting it up to his ear. The contact photo for his brother never failed to amuse him — it was taken at one of his ice hockey games after he'd scored a game-winning goal, his arms in the air and a ridiculous grin spread across his face. Cropped out of the photo was some of his teammates skating towards him, about to jump on top of him in euphoria. A celly, it was called. A _celly_. Like ' _celebration_ ', but shortened. _Celly_. Like, what the hell? Hockey players are weirdos.

"Yo," he answered as the three of them began to walk back down the hallway, in the direction of the common room.

"Baz," André said with his signature sounding-like-he-was-smiling voice, "How did you go? I assume you passed, otherwise you wouldn't have answered the phone with 'yo'. It would have been something normal, like 'hello, best brother in the universe', but then I would have been worried."

"Of course I did," he said this as if it were obvious, although it had definitely not seemed so when he was actually undertaking the Exam, "I got Air. And you know I'd never say that."

"Nice!" He ignored his last comment, "Have you spoken to Lise, yet? She had hers in first period."

"No,"

Teddy and Kenzie walked a bit in front of him, making small talk. Occasionally Teddy would glance back, and Baz would pull a face at him, pleased when it made him smile.

"She passed, too, naturally. She got Darkness." André said.

He frowned, "She... What?" He didn't know how to feel about this. It's not like getting Darkness was a bad thing, it didn't mean she was destined to turn dark-side or anything, but it was the last thing he had expected for his rule-obeying, kind-but-sometimes-irritating twin sister. But the thing he was more concerned about was the connection between this and the banshee's warning.

"It's surprising, I know, but don't be a jerk about it."

"I'm not going to be a jerk about it!"

"Okay, okay, but just be careful. She's slightly sensitive about it for the moment. I actually think she's a bit scared. I've tried to tell her that it doesn't mean she's evil, but heavens knows if it actually worked or not."

Baz knew that it had probably worked, at least somewhat. André was Water — the type of people renowned for their empathy and unlimited powers of reassurance.

"Okay," he said, when Kenzie gave him a pointed cough, "Oh yeah, Kenzie says 'hi'."

"Hi Kenzie!"

"Kenzie, he says 'hi', back."

"Sorry that you had to put up with him for another ten weeks!" She called loud enough for André to hear, grinning. He heard his brother laughing and screwed up his face, hitting her on the shoulder.

"Sorry that you have to put up with him for the rest of the year!" André called back.

"No, I'm not telling her you said that," Baz shook his head. Both his brother and best friend burst out laughing, and when he looked over at Teddy he saw he was pursing his lips, trying not to laugh as well. Baz glared at him good-naturedly.

"Oh, I've gotta go, Baz," his brother said.

"M'kay, talk to you later, bro." They hung up, and he shoved his phone back into his pocket. He took a few quick steps to catch up with Kenzie and Teddy, and shook his head, looking off into the distance with mock hurt, "You're all so mean to me."


	5. Knife Shoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teddy plays ice hockey and harasses an American.

Teddy took his hand away from the strap of his backpack to push open the door to the campus's ice rink, welcoming the cold air that suddenly enveloped him. His eyes fluttered closed for a second, relishing the change in temperature. Sometimes he wondered why he lived in Australia. Out of anywhere in the world, his parents had chosen to stay here, in this 1.901 billion-acred sauna. The perpetual headaches and feelings of death were _really_ not worth it.

Before his arrival was noticed, he quickly moved over to the benches to avoid the first impression of being 'that weirdo that stands in front of doors for an excessively long time'. Not that he was exactly earning a gold star in the first impression department so far, considering the ' _va_ _te_ _faire_ _voir_ ' fiasco. Despite this, his new friendly acquaintances, Baz and Kenzie, seemed to think he was okay. Now _that_ was a concept he struggled to wrap his head around. Even though he wanted to call them his friends, he would hesitate to do so. He knew that he was less than that to them, and that at some point soon they would turn their backs on him. He hoped that that point would never come, but he wasn't foolish.

Regardless, he wanted to enjoy it while it lasted... Whatever 'it' was. He had tried desperately to think of any reason — just one — why Baz had walked over to him and struck up a conversation the previous day. And then, after the Exam, when he'd talked to him yet again. And then when he and Kenzie had asked him to hang out with them. And then in music earlier today when Baz had made a beeline for the spot next to where Teddy was sitting. He just couldn't understand it.

After swinging his bag onto the bench, he took his ice skates out of his bag, joy flowing through him and he had to refrain from grinning to himself. A smile could ruin his reputation of being slightly terrifying — a reputation that, though initially unintentional, suited him just fine. He could either be a ghost or a demon, and he much preferred striking fear over being invisible. This didn't seem to be the case with Baz and Kenzie, though. In fact, if they had known who he was, they showed no signs of it.

He took a chug from his water bottle, then started to make his way towards the men's bathroom. The amount of gear required for playing hockey was ridiculous, and there was no way he was wearing it all outside of the rink during summer. He would literally die.

"Whitford!" Called out a familiar, faintly French-accented voice. He looked up to see his former captain (while he was on the high school team) walking towards him. Actually, judging from the capital 'C' on André Snyder's jersey, he was also going to be his captain while he played on the college team. It didn't really surprise him — the guy had always been destined for a career on the ice. What did surprise him was how no scouts had snatched him up yet. Yes, he was too old to be drafted, but when you're practically the next Wayne Gretzky, someone should really shove you over to the NHL regardless. He could be in America or Canada playing hockey, yet here he was, in Australia, putting his life on the line to be a Sentry.

"Hey, Cap," he greeted, as amicably as his edginess allowed.

"It's been a while, Witty. I'm glad to see my favourite forward back on my team." André smiled, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. The height difference between them was dramatic, but that was normal, considering Teddy was one of the shortest players. Everyone who plays hockey has a hockey nickname, and the people on their team never really called them anything else. Teddy's was 'Witty', and he still remembered the euphoria he felt the first time someone referred to him as such. He'd really felt like a true hockey player.

Out of everyone at the Sentry Stronghold, there had only ever been a few people that Teddy had warmed up to. His old hockey captain had been one of them. Although in the beginning Teddy had been withdrawn and suspected him of hidden motives, André never directed anything towards him that wasn't support or camaraderie, and that was something someone like Teddy appreciated more than he could put into words.

"Heh, well I'm not back on your team yet, André. I mean, there are no guarantees that I even will be." Teddy pointed out. He wasn't great at hockey, this he knew. In fact, he wasn't really great at anything except building unscalable walls around himself. This didn't matter to him — hockey had always been a comfort, as soon as he had stepped into the Stronghold's ice rink for the first time. It had become one of the few things he allowed himself to love.

"Nonsense!" André declared, "With your level of skill, you're basically guaranteed a spot."

Teddy ducked his head, "I appreciate your support, André."

"No problem, now go get changed before Coach chews your head off." And after giving him a last pat on the shoulder, he continued on his way towards the benches. Teddy would've thought that, given he already had a spot in the locker room, he would've changed and left his stuff there, but evidently not. He assumed it was something to do with André seeing himself as equal to everyone else.

———

"Okay, everyone, on the ice stat," ordered Coach Bennett, a Winnipeg Jets cap perched on her head. Teddy often thought that Lizzie Bennett from Jane Austen's _Pride_ _&_ _Prejudice_ would be a lot like Coach if she lived in the 21st century — she was kind, but took no nonsense. Coach Bennett was a legend; she taught chemistry and physics, and on top of that coached both of the Stronghold's teams — the Stratford Challengers (the high school team) and the Stratford Sentinels (the uni team). It had been decided that the name Sentry Stronghold was too suspicious, so something else had to be chosen for inter-school events. Thus, everyone outside knew them as the Stratford School, named after their founder, Ignatius Dominic Stratford. The IDSS. Convenient.

"We don't have as much time as I would have liked, so I'm determined to get as much out of these tryouts as possible," Coach Bennett continued, as about thirty students made their way onto the ice, "I see people returning to the Sentinels, and I see people just joining us from the Challengers. I even see a few new faces in the crowd. Whether you've been on the Sentinel team or not doesn't matter — your captain, André Snyder, and I will be assessing your talent and your teamwork. And remember, we can only take twenty of you." — she paused for dramatic effect — "Okay, grab a partner, we're going to start with some drills and then play a couple of quick games."

Chatter rose from the players, everyone looking for a friend to pair off with. Before he had the time to groan, Teddy felt someone poking him in the side with their hockey stick.

"Hey, Witty, I hoped you'd be back again," Rosa Alcott beamed, having suddenly appeared next to him. She had grown up in Alabama in the US, but had spent her last few years of ' _elementary_ ' school in Edmonton. This combination left her with the the habit of using 'y'all' and 'eh' whenever possible, much to Teddy's amusement. As an avid supporter of the Carolina Hurricanes, apparently it was war amongst her and her classmates every time they played the Edmonton Oilers.

Every Australian school ice hockey team, if they even had one, was mixed-gendered — there weren't enough people wanting to play to have two teams per school. Teddy was content with that. Rosie was one of the other people he'd come to like, which was handy, seeing as they had been on the same line since he was in Year 9. That is, except for last year. She was in the year above him, and had therefore moved into uni before him. She was a left wing, and he was a centre, but often played as a right wing. He hoped they both earned a spot — it would have felt weird for both of them to play without the other.

"Who do you think I am, Rosie?" He replied, keeping his face expressionless. His refusal to smile at her had become a running joke over the years, and he wasn't intending to give her the satisfaction of breaking that. The only time he showed her friendly affection was during a — the term for an expression of joy after scoring a goal, often celebrated by most of the team members on the ice at the time.

She smiled slyly, "I think you're a great partner option in the drills. You'll make me look good if nothing else, eh?"

"Hey!" He swatted her shoulder.

"Everyone grab a puck!" Coach demanded loudly, and the two of them knew better than to dawdle. As they were skating over, he looked over at her and said,

"Say the thing."

"No," she scrunched up her nose.

"Come on, it's been ages since I've seen you."

She groaned dramatically, "Sweet home, Alabama," she said, leaning heavily on her accent. Teddy smirked — it never failed to amuse him, and it never failed to annoy her when he kept bugging her to say it.

———

After about a quarter of an hour running drills, it was time to play a few twenty-minute games. André had everyone write their name and position on a sheet of paper and put them into four separate hats, then drawing the amount of players needed for a game from each one. One goalie, one centre, two wingers, and two defence.

Teddy was in the second game, though he would have preferred to be in the first so he could get it over and done with. The anticipation was killing him. So much rested on this one game — if he didn't make it on the team, he honestly didn't know how he would get through the year. He also didn't know if he'd have the courage or motivation to tryout next year.

He took his twenty-minute break as an opportunity to scope out who was there, especially since Rosie was playing in the first game and, therefore, he had no one to talk to. He recognised most people, actually. Quite a few of them were from his team last year, and some others were on his team during previous years. One particular player stood out, though; Vasili Nazarov, or just Naza. He wasn't the biggest fan of this — it reminded him too much of Toronto player Nazem Kadri, who was too good to be associated with the likes of Vasili. Teddy and Vasili were in the same year, and had played on the same team countless times, occasionally even on the same line. He never payed much attention to Teddy. He was a centre, and he was well renowned for being a complete and utter jerk. Teddy very much hoped he didn't earn a spot. But although he would never admit it, the Russian guy was actually a good player, so it was likely he'd make it.

Teddy didn't know many of the people on his trial team. There was Dasher, who was a left winger, and there was Freezy, who was a goalie. Arkie was the name of the goalie for the team they were playing — they had played together the previous year.

He had forgotten how much he loved the sport; the sound of the skidding puck, the speed he could skate, the determination it filled him with. Of course he was anxious, but he was no stranger to the adrenaline of nervousness. This was an advantage — it stopped him from thinking too much. His team played well, winning 1-0. It was reasonably good for only twenty minutes. And, surprisingly, he didn't get into any fights with anyone.

But now it was over.

He had no more chances. What happened next was out of his hands. He'd done his best, and he just had to hope that it was enough.

He said goodbye to Rosie, and met André at the door.

"You did well today, Witty," he said with a smile.

"Thanks, André."

"No problem. Of course I can't tell you what Coach and I are thinking, and of course the final decisions haven't been made, but I think you did a great job. Don't forget to check the roster the day after tomorrow!"

Teddy didn't smile, but he hoped his eyes showed the gratitude he felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lollllll “I know someone like that” (from the last chapter) ‘cause it’s the same person. Oh, how I amuse myself.


	6. What Team? 18E!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ”What team?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in an 'ayyyy see what I did there?' expression.
> 
> Teddy stared at him for a few seconds, then finally uttered a confused "What?"
> 
> Baz frowned, "You're supposed to say 'Wildcats!',"

Teddy had always hated crowds — they made him seem even smaller and more insignificant than he already felt. It wasn't exactly claustrophobia, but dozens upon dozens of strangers surrounding and being shoved against him in a tight location tended to freak him out. Sadly, there was nothing he could do about the fact that it was a daily occurrence. He just had to power through.

"There's probably already a line like a mile long!" Baz exclaimed, briefly turning his head back to look at Teddy, "Make haste!"

"I _am_ making haste," he grumbled, questioning why he wasn't questioning the fact Baz had literally just said 'make haste'. The two of them had just come from their music course, and Baz was adamant about travelling to the noticeboard as quickly as humanly possible, even if that meant dragging Teddy behind him by the wrist. The Stronghold's hallways were always busy, but that was only natural due to the number of students that attended. This time of year, however, the traffic was even more hectic than usual.

"Well make haste _faster_ ," Baz persisted. Teddy rolled his eyes, but still picked up the pace as much as he could without ramming into people's shoulders. Which, granted, was not much.

At last, they managed to make it to their destination without being crushed. All the college first years crowded around a rather large table pushed against a wall in the corridor. Everyone else sported matching looks of irritation as they tried to make their way past, muttering various expletives or exasperated interjections. No one was looking at the noticeboard, so Teddy assumed there was no list. Really, they shouldn't have used a table. Lists work fine. It would have made life just that much simpler.

"Hey, how does this work?" Baz asked someone who was walking away from the table, holding a small, rectangular card in her hand.

"Find the card with your name on it," she explained, pushing her glasses up her nose, "It has the number/letter combination of your Team on it. It's in alphabetical order."

He thanked her as she continued on her way, then turned back to Teddy, "Meet you by the bubblers when we've found ours?"

Teddy nodded, and they split. He made a beeline — or attempted to — for the far end of the table, knowing he would probably be the very last. Not many surnames came after 'Wh'. Making his way there was definitely a challenge in itself. People elbowed him, so he elbowed them back. People shoved him, so he shoved them back. He frowned, ignoring the fact that his breathing was becoming increasingly sharp.

Finally arriving at the front of the group, he skimmed his fingers over the cards until he found the one with his name on it. He didn't check his team, he just wanted to get out of there. Fighting his way to the bubblers was slightly easier, but still difficult. He stood with his back flattened against the wall, glaring at everyone that passed him. He didn't have long to wait until Baz arrived.

"What team?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in an 'ayyyy see what I did there?' expression.

Teddy stared at him for a few seconds, then finally uttered a confused "What?"

Baz frowned, "You're supposed to say 'Wildcats!',"

" _What_?"

" _High School Musical_ , dude!" Baz exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in disbelief at Teddy's lack of knowledge.

"Oh, never seen it."

" _You've never what_ ‽" Baz looked ridiculous — his eyes were wider than the sun, his eyebrows were higher than the Empire State Building and his mouth was open almost as much as the shark from _Jaws_. _Jaws_ was a bad movie. The characters were stupid. But evidently Teddy was stupid, too, for not understanding this ostensibly obvious movie reference.

"Seen _High School Musical._ I've never really felt the need to." It was amusing for Teddy to see Baz's increasingly dramatic and incredulous reactions to Teddy's constant calm demeanour during this conversation. How shocking it was, for someone to never have seen a movie that probably wasn't that great anyway. Rosie told him to watch _Jaws_ , and look how much he enjoyed that.

"Blasphemy! You shut your uncultured mouth, Teddy! I'm gonna force you to watch it one day."

"Whatever, hard pass. What Team did you get?"

"I got 18E," Baz replied, significantly calmer.

Teddy looked down at his own card, and felt his heart skip a beat, "You're kidding," he said, looking up, his lips parting in shock.

"Why?" Baz asked, tilting his head, but a small smile tugged at his lips, leading Teddy to assume that he already knew the answer.

" _I_ got 18E."

"You did‽" Baz exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face and his eyes widening with excitement. Baz's eyes intrigued Teddy. He had heterochromia — one of his irises was chestnut, and the other was jade. In the few days Teddy had known him, they had always been bright with happiness. Not the fake bright from fake happiness that he had become familiar with, in both himself and others around him, but actual, genuine joy. When he smiled, they glistened. When he laughed, they sparkled. Teddy had only ever found that joy playing hockey, but somehow it seemed to be Baz's general aura.

Baz grabbed Teddy's shoulders and shook him with violent excitement, "Teddy! We're on the same Team!" Teddy laughed, and Baz took his hands from his shoulders before pulling out his phone. He began to type furiously, his head bent over so his sandy blond hair hung in his eyes, "We have to find out what Kenzie got,"

Teddy nodded, surprised when Baz received a reply instantly, "She's in 18E, too!"

They both started laughing — it seemed so surreal. What were the chances that not only the two of them, but Kenzie as well, would be in the same team? Little did Baz know, and never would Teddy admit this, but one of the reasons this made Teddy so excited was that now there was no way they would be able to leave him. They would fight together, laugh together, and have each other's backs. And maybe, just maybe, he had finally found a friendship he could rely on.

"We should probably head to class," he said, "Well, _you_ should. I have a free period."

"Ugh, lucky," Baz replied with a wrinkle of his nose, "Okay, see you soon?"

"Yeah... We have our first training session in a couple of hours."

Baz face-palmed, "Of course! Bye, then!"

"Bye," he waved, watching as Baz battled the stampede of students, leaving Teddy to his thoughts. Thoughts about how, of all the people who could have attempted to befriend him, he was lucky enough for it to have been Baz. If he had been foolish enough to believe in fate, he would have believed it was purposefully throwing them together. He didn't, but he was more than happy to let the coincidences run their course.

Deep down, he knew he was letting his guard down. He was letting his guard down, and the only things that he ever gained in the end were more reasons to pack them with more layers of armour. Deep down, he knew he was going to regret this. But deep down, he was also prepared to cross that bridge when he got to it. He'd made the trip plenty of times — he could do it again.

———

"Hey, Teddy!" Kenzie called, spying his mass of wavy, brown hair up ahead. He turned around, giving a small wave when he saw her, and she ran to catch up to him. Now everyone knew what team they were on, the congestion of people had lessened dramatically, and she couldn't be more glad. She hated it with a passion — everything moved so slowly and _she had places to be._ It was like being trapped behind slow walkers, only so much worse, because the slow walkers couldn't speed up if they wanted to. But now, she was as free as a bird! Well, not really. There was still traffic. _But_ at least she could move her feet properly, rather than quite literally shuffling along with the same speed as a sleeping rabbit. Which is to say _no speed at all._

"I hear we're on the same Team," Teddy said as she reached his side, his expression unchanging, but the tone of his voice sounded as if he should be smirking. She liked this kid. Admittedly, after stalking him in the yearbook the day she met him, she had been slightly ambivalent. His name was Teddy, and it's not like she was going to claim to be Sherlock Holmes for assuming it was short for 'Theodore'. And, really, how many Theodores could there be in their year? She'd heard about Theodore Whitford; people kept as far away from him as they could, worried he'd punch them without a second's thought if they got too close. He stuck to the walls like he was magnetised there, rarely without his earphones in, glaring at most of the people who so much as accidentally glanced in his direction.

But Baz had seemed happy in his presence, and a friend of Baz's was a friend of Kenzie's. Turns out, when you actually spent time with him, Teddy was a cool guy. He responded to her banter good-naturedly, he groaned and rolled his eyes with a smile at Baz's puns. He loved music, hated maths, and favoured red, green and silver over other colours. Like everyone else, he was a regular person (except for the fact that silver was one of his favourite colours). He just seemed to have a grudge against most people.

"Yeah," she grinned, "That means we know, like, half the team already. I wonder who the others are?"

"Don't have a clue," he replied, shrugging his shoulders, "There are so many people who attend here, we've probably never even seen them before."

She nodded in agreement. Their conversation pretty much ended there, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. This didn't bother her, though. Sometimes not talking at all is better than desperately trying to think of an icebreaker. Besides, neither of them seemed to find it awkward, and that was a quality she appreciated in some people.

They arrived at a lift, and Teddy reached forward to press the down button. The outline lit up in a neon yellow-green, a colour Kenzie had an irrational hatred towards. She liked green, she didn't mind yellow, but together and _neon_? That was a whole packet of 'nope'.

"Do you remember what room we're in?" Teddy asked her as the lift arrived with a ' _ting!_ ' that was earsplitting enough to rival that of a garbage truck's beeping on a Saturday morning.

"Uh..." She reached into the pocket of her pleated shorts — yes, her shorts actually had real pockets! — and fumbled for the business card-like piece of paper they had retrieved earlier in the day, "FB.09,"

He nodded. For training classes (or just training sessions now that they were with their Team) they were always in the basements. Each block on each campus had a basement, full of about fifteen different training rooms. Lucky they had air conditioning, the heat would have been completely intolerable otherwise. A bunch of sweaty teenagers in a windowless room was never a fun experience. She was curious to see whether or not the training rooms in the college campus would be any different to the ones in the high school campus, considering they were going to start entering the Expanse.

The lift didn't take long to transport them a couple of floors down, emitting the same ' _ting!_ ' as its doors opened. So far, everything looked the same. It was dark, no windows, the only source of light were the overhead fluorescent tube lights. Some flickered, their own spurious version of morse code. There were numerous steel doors on both sides of the wide hallway, making it seem more like a maximum security prison rather than a combat facility. Unless you fancied crawling through the above series of unnavigable ventilation shafts, the only way out was the lift they had just entered through. And they didn't crawl through ventilation shafts. They weren't heathens.

The rooms were soundproof — the only sounds they could hear were their heavy feet on the stone floor as they walked side-by-side.

"Here we are," Kenzie said, pointing up at the 'FB.09' that was written above one of the doors. She knew that 'FB' stood for 'F (block) Basement', but that didn't stop her from reading it as 'FaceBook'.

Teddy, the closest, took a deep breath. She saw him hesitating, so turned the handle and pushed the door open herself. She didn't know how long they would be there if it was up to him, and they didn't want to be late. He shot her a surprised yet grateful look, then followed her in, closing the door behind them.

The room was smaller than the ones in the high school campus, which made sense — there weren't as many people. However, it was still considerably large. It even had its own bathroom, which was understandably handy. The walls were grey, but had several chips that showed the white paint beneath. A weapons rack like the one from the Exam was up against one wall, and a pile of cushions sat in one corner. Two people stood in the centre of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I haven’t seen HSM, either, and I think I’ll be fine if I never do. Sorry.


	7. Not Everyone is a Stalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baz and Teddy don’t use their brains at all.  
> (This was ghostwritten by Kenzie)

Kenzie looked over at Teddy, and noticed the glare he'd fixed on the other two people in the room; Baz and Lise. Which made no sense. While she was surprised to see Lise here, she wasn't about to glare at her. Why would she? Having been best friends with Baz for years, they'd been on quite a few holidays together. She liked Lise; she was sweet, intelligent, and good-humoured. How anyone could not like her was a mystery, yet Teddy seemed to have at least what _he_ deemed a pretty good reason... Unless he was glaring at Baz, that is, although she couldn't imagine why he'd be doing that, either.

He crossed his arms, "Why's Baz talking to _her_?" He said 'her' in the same way someone would talk about their boss, who just the other day delighted in forcing them to experience cleaning the MacDonald's bathrooms while listening to Justin Bieber music and Justin Bieber interviews simultaneously. Upturned nose and tense stance.

She raised an eyebrow and said, slowly, "Maybe because she's his sister...?" Her tone rose up at the end, implying that it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it was. Are family members not allowed to converse? Must they keep a distance between them wider than the Grand Canyon? 

She could see the gears spinning behind his eyes. Realisation dawned on his face, and his expression slowly morphed into a combination of shock and horror that she would have found comical had she understood what caused this reaction.

His head snapped towards her, "Please tell me you're joking."

"No?"

"Baz is _Balthazar_ _Snyder_ ‽" He hissed in a hushed tone, the pitch of his voice going up an octave and his eyes displaying pure panic. Only the people close to Baz actually called him 'Baz', everyone else knew him as 'Balthazar'. And when she said 'everyone', she meant it fairly literally. When you have a talent for wisecracking and an uncanny ability to make people laugh with one word, you kind of tend to rise in the ranks of popularity. Even if people had never seen him before, they still definitely knew of him.

She blinked at him, "You didn't realise?" She asked incredulously. It was in this moment she made the discovery that her new friend was an oblivious moron. Why was everyone she knew an oblivious moron? Teddy, Baz, Fraser... Actually, Fraser, her brother wasn't oblivious - he was just a moron.

"No! I only knew him as 'Baz'!"

"What else would 'Baz' be short for‽"

He paused for a second, mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of a response, "Baz...‽"

"What‽" Kenzie shrieked at a low volume. It would have been kind of awkward if Baz had overheard their conversation. Not that they were talking ill of him, but still. It was taking a lot of self-restraint to not facepalm, or at least massage her temples, but she didn't want to draw attention to them. For Teddy's sake.

"I don't know!" He threw his arms up defensively, "There are lots of things! Barry! Basil! Barack! Barnabas!"

"Who names their child freaking _Barnabas_ ‽" She was done. So done. She had never been more done in her entire life. And that was saying something - she was friends with Baz.

" _I_ _don't_ _know_ ‽" He repeated.

"And did you _never_ think to look him up in the yearbook?" 

"No! Why would I do that? I'm not a stalker." He shook his head, then stared at the ground, a dozen pennies dropping behind his eyes, "Wait, but this means..."

"Hey, Teddy! Kenz!" Baz called. Both Kenzie and Teddy's heads snapped in his direction, and she knew that he too had that moment of panic where they wondered if Baz had overheard their conversation. After all, he looked like he was trying not to laugh. Although it was just as likely that he was trying not to laugh at something he had just said himself, "You've just been hovering near the door for the past five minutes, come and be _social_."

Kenzie seriously doubted it had been five minutes, but she couldn't deal with this conversation for any longer, anyway.

———

"Hey bro," Lise said, ruffling Baz's hair as he walked over to her, the rare gleam of mischief in her green eyes reserved only for taunting her twin. He was glad he wasn't the first to arrive at the training room - waiting by yourself was one of the most boring things ever. Phone reception was terrible in the basement areas, too, so scrolling through Instagram would have been not completely out of the question, but _very_ excruciating.

"Hey sis," he greeted, rolling his eyes and trying not to focus on the fact that he just sounded like James Charles. Ruffling Baz's hair was an action she'd picked up from André when they were kids - a time when Baz had been the shortest sibling. Even though _Lise_ was now the shortest, she still insisted on acting like she wasn't. She was insufferable whenever she had to wear-in a new pair of pointe shoes; when she wasn't slamming them in doors, she made sure to walk past him while wearing them as often as she could. And he made sure to push her over as often as he could.

"Have you talked to André since tryouts yesterday?" She asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

He braced himself for a rant. He was the only sibling in his family who couldn't care less about ice hockey, except whenever he went to watch his brother play. After growing up with listening to countless conversations about the sport, he knew all the rules, all the NHL teams, and the names of several players. Even though Lise had only played for a year, she was still as passionate as Gollum was about the One Ring.

Baz had to admit that over recent years he had started to take more of an interest in it, but it still wasn't his top preference to spend his free time on, and he didn't really have a team he supported. André and Lise supported separate teams; the Montréal Canadiens and the Colorado Avalanche, respectively. He had been forced to deal with numerous arguments about which team was better, and whenever they played each other all hell broke loose. Being exposed to that since he was, like, seven or something, kind of put him off truly enjoying the sport.

He tried to sound interested, "No, why?"

"He seems pretty excited about this season," she said, like this was surprising, "He and the coach have decided who'll be on the team, and apparently there are some really good players. Including from our grade. He refused to tell me who they are, though. Because 'they have a right to know before you do, Lise'." Her fingers made air quotes as she recounted their brother's words.

The door opened, and in walked Teddy - who was wearing his watch on the opposite wrist again - and Kenzie. Baz smiled, but frowned when he saw the sour expression on Lise's face.

"You okay, there?" He asked, tempted to check her temperature.

"Please don't tell me _he's_ on our team," she said bitterly, completely ignoring his question.

"Then I suppose I'll keep my mouth shut?" He shrugged in confusion, "But, seriously, why?"

"Because I don't like him, Baz, I thought that much was obvious."

"Yeah, but _why_? How could you possibly not like Teddy?"

"Because he's-! Wait, do you and Kenzie know him?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Yeah, he's our friend."

Her eyebrows nearly reached her hairline, "Well I wasn't expecting that."

"Why?"

"Settle down, Socrates. Because he's Theodore Whitford. He doesn't have friends. He's a loner, and he's dangerous. Everyone's too terrified to even say a single word to him, let alone hold up a complete conversation." She said, and realisation dawned on him. He put a hand over his mouth, shaking through repressed laughter. She raised an eyebrow at him, "What's so funny?"

"Because he's... Theodore Whitford," he wheezed, "And people are terrified... of _him_!"

He gave up on trying not to laugh, but tried to make it as quiet as possible. He doubled over, putting his hands on his knees.

Of course he'd heard of Theodore Whitford. Everyone had. Somehow, he'd earned the reputation of being the Stronghold's resident Ronan Lynch; clad-in-black with a scowl capable of filling a dozen morgues. Eyes of stone and words of steel. Like Lise had said, everyone was utterly terrified of him. Baz's expectations definitely did not meet up with the reality. He never would have guessed that this person and Teddy were one and the same, and even now that he knew he still couldn't believe it. His first impression of Teddy had been that he was a blushing schoolboy who needed to be protected. Now he was being told that he had somehow struck fear into the hearts of almost everyone in their grade? Of course Baz was going to burst out laughing.

"Why are you finding this so funny?" Lise was definitely judging him, but it's not like he wasn't used to it. Hell, he was pretty sure most of their interactions involved one of them judging the other. It was just how they rolled.

"Lise," he smiled, straightening up and putting a hand on her shoulder, "This boy is the least terrifying person I've ever met."

Her facial expression of judgement reverted back to suspicious, "Hang on, he scowls his way out of conversations with people. How did you manage to reach the end of even one, let alone enough to form a friendship?"

"I don't know," Baz shrugged, "I think he was just nervous about the Exam and needed someone to talk to."

"Uhuh."

He looked over at where Teddy and Kenzie were standing. Their conversation seemed to involve several dramatic hand gestures accompanying every sentence. He had no idea what they were talking about, but the lack of context for their facial expressions - Teddy, panicked, and Kenzie, exasperated - was hilarious.

"Hey, Teddy! Kenzie!" He called out, to Lise's evident dismay, "You've just been hovering near the door for the past five minutes, come and be _social_."

They shot each other a glance before walking over. Both Teddy and Lise crossed their arms at the same time, staring daggers at each other. Kenzie, seemingly sensing the tension and the possibility of an argument brewing, smiled at Lise.

"Hey, Lise," she said, "How was France?"

"Hey, Kenzie. It was lovely, thank you." She replied, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Hello, Lise." Teddy said coolly.

"Theodore." She replied, matching his tone through gritted teeth, "Come to yell at me again?"

" _Yell_ at you? I barely raised my voice."

"Well I beg to differ."

Teddy scoffed, "Did you really just say 'I beg to differ'? Who even talks like that anymore? And on to more important matters, how could I possibly have yelled at you? We were in a _library_.'

"Regardless, it was still uncalled for." She seethed, taking a step forwards.

Teddy, too, took a step forwards, "Now _I_ beg to differ! You took something of mine and I wanted it back and I don't think that's too much to ask for!"

Baz's eyes darted back and forth between them, and he began to wonder if he was going to end up having to break up the fight before it got physical. Glancing over at Kenzie, he could see his thoughts mirrored on her face. The last time he had seen this much anger in someone's eyes, it had been Kenzie, and she had ended up breaking someone's nose. It had been amazing to watch - he'd hated the guy. But he didn't want his sister to hurt Teddy. Or vice versa.

"Why is this so important to you‽" Lise raised her voice.

"It was a good pacer! And it was my last one, too!"

That's when the pieces clicked into place. Lise was the one who had stolen Teddy's pacer. She's the reason he had wanted to know how to say 'stuff you' in French. But that also meant... She was the reason that the two of them had become friends. That left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he resisted scrunching up his nose. The fact that Lise had met Teddy before him didn't sit well, for some reason. And he was slightly offended that she didn't like him.

"Who cares, Theodore‽ It was _a_ _pacer_! You can get them for, like, two dollars at Officeworks!"

"That's not the point!"

"Well I don't care about that, either! I refuse to take criticism from someone _named after a stuffed animal children put on top_ _of_ _their_ _bookshelves_!"

"Okay, Lise, calm down," Baz said, raising his voice slightly and narrowing his eyes. Something changed about Teddy's demeanour at this, but Baz wasn't sure what it was or why.

"Buzz off, Baz!" His sister replied, "He needs to learn how to apologise!"

"And you need to learn how to give back the things you borrow!" Teddy scowled.

"Okay, children, time to break it up!" Kenzie demanded.

"Maybe I would have if you hadn't yelled at me!" Lise continued, ignoring her.

"Are we really going back to this‽ Really, Lise‽ Can't think of any more excuses, eh‽"

"Okay, stop," a random person said, stepping between them. Teddy and Lise's expressions of hatred were gone in a flash, replaced by complete and utter confusion. Baz didn't blame them - he had been so caught up in their argument that he hadn't even noticed this guy entering the room.

Lise took a step back, "Who-?"

"Look, I'm just here to make sure no one gets hurt," the guy said, his voice calmer than an undisturbed pond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *heavy sigh* Stupid boys.


	8. Like Drama Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roll call and the bullying of small children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to combine two chapters together, so if you read this before 17/12/18, you might want to read it again ;)

No one spoke, everyone just looked at the newcomer in confusion. Baz had no idea who he was, but he was very grateful that he was there. Teddy and Lise were now too in shock to continue their argument, and hopefully they would forget about it all together. He had been excited that he would be on the same Team as two of the most important people in his life, as well as someone he had only known for a few days but was already starting to consider one of his closest friends. Now? He was kind of concerned that Teddy and Lise weren't going to get past this feud of theirs, and that they were going to tear each other's throats out.

The guy was of Asian heritage, and had brown eyes that portrayed stern kindness, uncannily similar to those of a mother scolding her children. (Well, Teddy and Lise _were_ behaving like children). He was standing with his hands up, as if the children were a pair of velociraptors from _Jurassic World_ , which meant Baz could clearly see his left wrist. He internally " _ohhhhh_ "-ed. The tattoo was the symbol of Water; an upside-down, blue triangle.

Those who were Water were commonly known for their peace-making skills, alongside their empathy and motivational pep talks. Like André—honestly one of the kindest people Baz knew, and he wasn't just saying that because he was his brother. This new guy seemed to tick all the Water boxes, and he had only just met him.

Kenzie was the first to snap out of the shock-induced silence, "Thanks," she said, rather cheerfully, like someone had just taken a stack of paperwork off her hands.

"No problem," he replied with nonchalance, "My name is Zack, and everyone here needs to calm their metaphorical farms. Also, I do understand that I just appeared here like a ninja, but I think you've had long enough to goggle at me with those perplexed looks on your faces."

The door to the room opened, revealing what Baz assumed to be the last member of their Team of six; Mind. The first thing that struck him was how tall this guy was—at least six feet, possibly a few inches more. His skin was olive, and he appeared to be from somewhere in the Pacific Islands. His face was kind, if not a little terrified. All heads turned towards him, silence settling on the room once again.

"Uh, hi," he said, stepping further into the room instead of lingering on the threshold, "I'm Kalei, please love me."

A quick glance at Teddy from the corner of Baz's eye allowed him to see the flicker of recognition that crossed his face. Wow, was there anyone this guy didn't know? How many coincidences were going to keep popping up? Was one of their mentors going to end up being his long lost sibling? (Each Team was assigned four mentors—four years older—to guide them through the rest of their time as Sentries).

"Oh," the guy, Kalei, said as his eyes landed on Teddy, "Hey,"

"Hey," Teddy replied, giving small and slightly awkward wave.

"You know each other?" Kenzie asked disbelievingly, probably on a similar train of thought to Baz.

"Yeah," Kalei nodded, beginning to walk towards them, "We played on the same ice hockey team last year."

Baz's eyes went wide, and he turned to Teddy, "Wait, you ice hockey?"

Teddy nodded, "Yeah, I ice hockey,"

"So does that mean you know-"

"André? Yeah."

Baz was so confused. This meant that not only had Lise met Teddy before him, but so had his brother. And not only that, but knowing André, he and Teddy were probably already pretty good friends. He looked over at Lise, who, although wearing a bitter expression, didn't seem phased at all. Kenzie did, though. Zack, like Baz, just looked confused.

"Uh, who is this André guy?" He asked.

"Our brother," Lise replied, nodding at Baz.

"Oh, are you Lise and Balthazar?" Kalei raised his eyebrows.

"Just 'Baz' is okay, thanks," Baz said, crossing his arms.

The door opened again, and in walked a tall woman that didn't look that much older than them, swiftly followed by three other people.

"Well why aren't any of you dressed?" She demanded, her accent foreign. It sounded like German, but Baz wasn't entirely sure.

They all instinctively looked down at what they were wearing. He kicked himself for not realising that they were probably supposed to wear their 'fighting clothes'—for lack of a better name—instead of their daywear, but it appeared that thought hadn't occurred to anyone else, either.

———

After getting changed, the group and their new mentors went around and introduced themselves. Awkward-new-high-school-or-drama-class style. Their name, one thing they liked, one thing they disliked, and an interesting fact about themselves. While sitting in a circle. Personally, Baz thought the whole thing was very cringeworthy, childish and unoriginal, but he wasn't too sure about voicing this opinion. The Possibly German Lady was slightly terrifying, but he would never admit that.

Her name was Justine Hoffman, and she had moved to Australia from Germany when she finished year 6. Liked: dark red roses. Disliked: sushi. She was Fire, which didn't surprise him at all. So far, she reminded him of Teddy. They didn't actually look that dissimilar, either; she had freckles covering her pale skin, and piercing blue eyes sitting under sturdy eyebrows. Her dark,wavy hair reached somewhere between her shoulders and her elbows. White bandages were wrapped around her wrists.

Darwin Chambers was her boyfriend of four years, and his weapon of choice was a bow and arrow. Liked: fog in winter mornings. Disliked: being pushed into bushes. He was Air, like Baz. His hair was that shade that's blonde and brown simultaneously, and his green eyes glinted with seemingly constant amusement. He had a sharp-pointed nose, pronounced cheekbones, and a silver stud in his right earlobe. There was a cut across his left cheek, but he didn't seem too bothered by it.

Sitting on his other side was Hester Lebna, who spent a good deal of her spare time boxing. Liked: calmly smashing glass for therapy. Disliked: unpredictability. Her wavy, black hair was loosely pinned back in what Baz was 80% sure Lise had once called a French twist, except for a section at the front that was shorter than the rest. He suspected it used to be a side fringe but she was now growing it out ( _omg, did she use to be an emo?_ , Baz wondered). She wore black eye makeup around eyes that appeared to swallow all light. She was Mind, but seemed to be as bored as Kalei was sweet.

Next was Emilio Guerra, and every year his family from Spain flew down to visit for Christmas. Liked: hikes before the sunrise. Disliked: when people used too much hair gel. He had brown hair that had definitely been styled with hair gel, although a minimal amount so it didn't look like you could throw a rock at it and it would bounce off. He had olive skin, freckles across his nose, and slight stubble on his chin. His eyebrows were dark, and his eyes were a pale brown. He was Earth, but that was where the similarities to Kenzie ended.

Each of the mentors wore a similar outfit. The younger Sentries wore whatever they wanted to, as long as it was black, comfortable and practical—although that criteria didn't stop Lise from wearing a plaid shirt tied around her waist for absolutely no reason other than the aesthetic. The mentors, on the other hand, were required to wear something that had remarkable likeness to various sorts of old-fashioned military uniforms, save for the black leggings or trousers. There were two options. The first kind of jacket (worn by Justine and Darwin) was plain black, with large, round, gold buttons on either side of the section that overlapped at the front. The collar was high, it too having the same buttons, and a belt was fastened around the waist. The second kind of jacket (worn by Hester and Emilio) was more elaborate; silver embroidery along the ends of the sleeves, the back of the collar and down the middle of the front contrasted against the black material. Kind of reminded Baz of the Grand Duke's uniform in the live-action Cinderella movie. He rewatched that movie with his cousins over the holidays, he'd forgotten how good it was.

Lise shifted in her seat, and revealed that she had been doing ballet since she was two. Liked: Doc Martens. Disliked: tying her hair up. The last part was an understatement—the only time Baz had ever seen her with her hair up was coming back from ballet class, and even then he suffered an approximately half hour rant. She had always hated getting it cut. It used to be something about wanting to be like a mermaid, so it amazed him how it always seemed to stay the same length. It was straight, sandy blonde, and almost reached her hips. Baz glimpsed the tattoo on her wrist that he had forgotten to ask her about; two black lines at a ninety degree angle.

Yasutake Zachariah (or Zack Yasutake) was trilingual—he could speak English, Japanese and Korean, thanks to his parents. Liked: painting with watercolours. Disliked: superficial racial stereotypes. Fair. He was wearing a black leather jacket, which Baz thought was rather impractical seeing as it was summer, but he wasn't about to crush the guy's dreams or whatever.

Kalei Akana had Polynesian parents, and his preferred weapon was a hasta—a type of spear. Liked: reading next to a window during the rain. Disliked: horror movies. He had brown hair and hazel eyes, unsettlingly similar in colour. He smiled at them all, and it occurred to Baz that he reminded him of André. They were both hockey players with bodies built for their chosen sport, but personalities certainly not matching the harshness and intensity. He twisted his wrist so everyone could see his tattoo, which was similar to Lise's except purple and inverted.

Kenzie went next, saying that she had initially wanted to study astronomy, but then decided she would have more luck with biology. Liked: rising early. Disliked: being trapped behind slow walkers. She turned her phone over in her hands, and Baz knew that she was resisting the urge to jump into a game of _Tetris_ , or something. She wasn't normally nervous around other people, but these people were different. So much rested on them getting along.

It was then Baz's turn, so he mentioned that his inspiration for studying law and criminology had totally been Elle Woods from _Legally Blonde_ and Larry from _The Castle_ and he was in no way, shape or form ashamed of that. Liked: saying random things in French. Disliked: walls. That last comment earned him a few strange looks, but he gave no further explanation, even despite Lise's silent eyebrow prompting.

At last the role of speaking landed on Teddy, who low-key looked terrified but Baz thought he was doing a marvellous job at disguising it. Baz could only really tell due to his nervous tapping, like he had done before the Element Exam. He caught his eye, smiling at him encouragingly. Teddy gave him a small nod, then turned to the rest of the group.

Teddy Whitford used playing hockey as a distraction from schoolwork—something to clear his head. Liked: music. Disliked: disloyalty and dishonesty. He looked back at Baz when he finished, blue eyes seeming to ask, "Did I do okay?"

Baz flashed him a thumbs-up as a "You did great". And he _did_ do great. Baz could tell that nerves were something he had trouble with, so he was proud of him for overcoming that. Personally, he had never had any trouble talking to people, but he could definitely understand how some people would find it difficult. Teddy smiled gratefully, and Baz was glad that he had contributed to the cause of that.

"Great, you all passed the first challenge of your training," Justine said, standing up and smoothing her uniform, "The easy challenge."

Baz and his Team looked at each other with fear as their mentors stood up and exited the circle. It didn’t seem like the older Sentries would be rejoining them, so they shuffled in to close the gaps. Unfortunately, this placed Teddy and Lise next to each other, both of them sitting as close to the person on their other side as possible.

“What’s happening?” Teddy asked, tilting his head to look up at their mentors.

“You’re going to be entering the Expanse,” Emilio answered casually as he and Darwin crossed over to the pile of cushions, beginning to toss some at the circle—two per person, it would seem. One hit Teddy square in the face. He glared at Lise, who was smirking smugly, but his expression softened when he saw Baz smiling, too.

The concept of entering the Expanse was complicated, in terms of the emotions it invoked, that is. One thing they had been told from the very beginning was that it was immensely dangerous, and not returning was always a possibility. Not only was this because of what awaited them on the other side—creatures more horrifying than anything Earth could possibly conjure—but also limited mental capacities. Leaving the Expanse is only possible inside a particular section colloquially called the Home Zone, which is why rule one is to never journey far from there. Even if you remain inside the Home Zone, the more injured or exhausted you are, the more difficult it becomes to exit the Expanse.

“What are the cushions for?” Zack asked as he hugged them to his chest.

“Well one of them is for your butt,” Darwin supplied, walking back over and stealing one of Zack’s cushions, “Now lie down,”

He obeyed, shooting Kalei a puzzled glance out of the corner of his eye, and Darwin slipped the cushion under his head, “Okay, sit back up,” he said.

Kenzie raised an eyebrow, “What was that about?”

“It’s so you don’t bash your head on the ground if you fall backwards,” Emilio said in a matter-of-fact tone, ignoring the looks of increased confusion this prompted, and gesturing for her to lie down too.

Darwin eventually took pity on them, “Something not many non-Sentries know is that when you travel to the Expanse, your bodies don’t travel with you. It’s just your spiritual self. But whatever you do, don’t think that that makes this any safer. When your spiritual self is harmed, it’s echoed on your physical self as well.”

“Hence the possibility of death, as you’re all aware of,” Justine contributed, coming back over with Hester to help with the cushion positioning.

“Wow. Way to kill the mood,” Darwin frowned.

“No,” Baz said, “The mood was already dead.”

Soon everyone was set. Kalei, who was told he had to sit in the middle, looked the most bewildered out of any of them, constantly turning his head to look at those who were behind him.

“Oi,” Hester said as she stood in front of him, grabbing his attention, “This is gonna be weird. Weird, but not difficult for you.”

“O-Okay…” He responded slowly.

“So without you, your Team can’t enter the Expanse. Only Minds can create the… Well I suppose the easiest way to describe it would be ‘mental portal’,” she explained, “Basically, you have to do the cliché ‘clear your mind’ thing, okay?”

The confusion on his face was replaced with terror, “What if I can’t clear my mind?”

She sighed, “It’s— No, never mind, scratch ‘clearing your mind’. Just close your eyes.”

“Everyone needs to close their eyes, by the way,” Emilio piped up, and the other five junior Sentries (junior Sentries?), who had been watching this conversation with intrigue, exchanged uneasy glances before doing as he said. Baz twitched uncomfortably—for some reason, not being able to see made everything seem that much more daunting.

Justine smirked, “And hold hands,” then added, when greeted with looks of horror as the junior Sentries’ eyes flashed open, “I’m actually not kidding. It won’t work if you don’t.”

Gingerly, they reached out and held the hands of the people next to them. No one missed the disgusted expressions on Teddy and Lise’s faces as they were forced to take each other’s hands. Baz shut his eyes again and tried not to wince.

“Good,” Hester continued, “Now let yourself feel connected to everyone, and imagine a completely blank landscape. There’s nothing there—everything is just white.”

“Okay,” Kalei responded.

There was a pause.

Baz held his breath. The anticipation was killing him. Still nothing. He raised an eyebrow, eyes still closed. In those moments, he learned the true definition of anticlimactic. All those other times? They had been purely an illusion. He had never truly experienced a true anticlimax until now. His ignorance had been lifted. Finally, he could rest assured that he could finally claim to know how it actually felt. His bucket list was nearly complete.

“Well… I don’t think that worked…” Kalei eventually stated.

“Yeah, we expected that,” Justine said as everyone opened their eyes, “It didn’t work for us when we first tried, either, but we thought that we might as well give it a go with you guys.”

“What happened?” Teddy asked.

“It wasn’t your fault, Kalei,” Hester assured him, “Everyone’s to blame, here.”

“What does that mean?” Lise asked.

“It’s because you don’t all trust each other,” Darwin responded.

“And trust is imperative towards entering to the Expanse,” Emilio chimed in, his voice significantly more serious than his general aura, “If you can’t trust each other, you can’t work together efficiently, and then you’re essentially dead. You may not think, seeing as your job is to just kill things, that much teamwork is going to come into play. We’re here to tell you that that’s exceedingly fallacious. Trust me when I say that there are going to be times when you’re going to need to hope that the person next to you has your back. Heaven help the poor soul in peril whose teammates are too focused on themselves to help.”

There was silence as the junior Sentries stared at him, expressions shocked.

“M’kay…” Darwin said awkwardly, “That was slightly harsher than what I was going for.”

“Stop roasting the children, Emil.” Hester chided.

“Um we’re literally only four years younger than you.” Kenzie said.

“Shh,” Emilio said, closing his eyes and putting his finger to his lips, “Children.”

“Okay,” Justine cut in, “We need to focus on fixing this. We’re going to try a few exercises to try and build up your trust in each other. This should work. Hopefully. I don’t know, maybe.”

“I admire your optimism.” Darwin and Baz drawled at the same time. They looked at each other, slightly freaked out.

“Yeah well both of you can shut up, we have bonding to do.” Justine said, unfazed.

“Why do I feel like I’m not going to enjoy this?” Lise muttered bitterly.

“You and me both. For once.” Teddy muttered, too.

“Yes, guys! Let’s bond!” Zack cheered, high-fiving Kalei.


	9. Idk What to Call It So I’m Just Gonna Leave It as This For Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking team bonding to a whole new level of awkward.

“‘How on Earth did you get this table down here?” Baz asked. He and Kalei were carrying it out from a sort of storage space built into the wall, which, when Justine had pressed a button, had opened in a way that reminded Lise of the cave from the Element Exam.

“We didn’t,” Hester shrugged, “It‘s always been down here.”

Darwin patted its surface when Baz and Kalei put it down, “Heavens knows why,”

“It’s not going to bite you,” Justine stated, motioning for the rest of them to come closer. They shuffled forwards. While most of them just looked plain confused, Theodore had narrowed his eyes at it suspiciously. Lise thought that this was ridiculous. What could a table possibly do to hurt them? Grow a face and start hurtling expletives? Chase after them on roller skates, waving chainsaws about? She hardly thought so. This wasn’t a child’s nightmare, this was real life. She imagined Baz’s voice awkwardly saying ‘Ha. Burn.’ like he normally did when he knew it really was not a burn. Then she assured herself that if she had said this out loud Theodore would’ve totally been roasted.

“Uh… why do we need this?” Kenzie asked.

“Because you’re going to be falling off it,” Emilio gringed.

“What‽” The six of them cried out, panicked.

“Oh for Pete’s sake, relax,” he scoffed, “We wouldn’t make you do anything dangerous.”

“Emil?” Justine raised an eyebrow judgementally, “The website we stole this from literally recommended not doing this because it was dangerous.”

“Justine?” Emilio said, his expression done, “Shush.”

Hester sighed, “This really isn’t getting anywhere. It’s basically like a trust fall, okay? Except one person falls backwards off the table and everyone else catches them. Any questions?”

Zack, Baz and Theodore raised their hands tentatively.

“Great!” Darwin said loudly, clapping his hands together, “We’ll just be over here. Have a few turns each. Let us know when you’re done. Have fun, kiddos.”

He, Justine, Emilio and Hester walked away—Emilio in the process of congratulating the four of them on how spectacular they were at this mentoring thing. So far, Lise begged to differ. She watched them go, jaw hanging open in disbelief. There were so many things wrong with this.

“So…” Kalei shifted his weight awkwardly, drawing her attention back to the Team, “Who’s going first?”

No one moved.

“Come on guys,” Kenzie yawned, “Out of everything we’re going to be facing in the Expanse, this is on the same level as changing a baby’s nappy.”

“Oh what the hell,” Baz said, moving forwards and climbing onto the table. Really, this didn’t surprise her. Volunteering to go first wasn’t an opportunity he often missed, for some bizarre reason. Probably to get it over and done with. But why do that when you can just put it off for as long as possible and let the idea of it eat you away from the inside?

The rest of them quickly discussed the best positions to be in to catch him, shuffling around below him as he stood on the edge and bounced on the balls of his feet.

“O Captain! My Captain!” He promptly declared, before promptly spinning around and falling. There was a chorus of startled yelps as they quickly shot their arms out, luckily managing to catch him in time.

“Cool,” he grinned, after a pause.

“We’re dropping you.” Kenzie deadpanned.

“What?” His voice was a mix between slightly panicked and offended, “Teddy, don’t let—” He cut himself off when he saw Theodore’s smug smirk as he was the first to let go, swiftly followed by the rest of them. He landed on the ground with a grunt, then frowned up at Theodore, “I trusted you,”

“Mistake,” Theodore replied, offering him his arm and pulling him to his feet, “Nice _Dead Poets Society_ reference, by the way.”

“I’ll go next,” Kenzie said, climbing onto the table as Baz took over her position, “Do hear the people sing?” She sung dramatically, before clenching her fists and letting herself fall over the edge. Catching her was easy; they had a warning and she was hella light.

After she safely had two feet in the ground, Zack bode farewell to the ‘cruel world’ as he had his turn. A grouchy Theodore, who was next, said ‘I have nothing to say’ which was met with a ‘Cheater’ from Baz. Lise had considered not helping catch him, but then realised that that would’ve been frowned upon. She also decided that she couldn’t really put off going for much longer—Kalei was the only other person to yet have their first go.

She hoisted herself up, and wasn’t really surprised at how tall she felt. She had never been short, but she wouldn’t hesitate to admit that she was relishing currently looking at the top of Baz’s head, even if it was short lived. Standing on the edge of the table, she took a deep breath before allowing herself to topple backwards. The moment of free fall was fleeting, but slightly exhilarating. She landed in a mass of arms, exhaling sharply. They set her down, then Zack turned to Kalei.

“Okay, Lei, it’s your turn,” He said.

Kalei shook his head with a grimace, “I’m a hockey player—I’ll literally crush you,”

“We caught Teddy just fine,” Kenzie said, nodding her head in his direction.

“Yeah, but we have very different builds. No offence, Witty.”

Theodore shrugged indifferently, “None taken.”

Kalei was right; looking at the other guy, you’d never guess that he played hockey. He wasn’t stocky, and he was (magnificently) shorter than Lise. Kalei, on the other hand, could have been mistaken for a wrestler. Then again, she didn’t know, he could have been a wrestler too.

“Come on, I don’t think they’ll let us move on if you don’t go,” Lise said, gesturing back at their mentors, who were currently engaged in a conversation that seemed to require intense hand gestures from Emilio. 

Kalei sighed in defeat, “Okay. Let’s do this.”

———

After being told to grab a partner, Baz nudged Teddy in the ribs, raising his eyebrows hopefully. Teddy had nodded with a smirk, filling him with a sense of accomplishment. Looking over at the others, he saw Kenzie had gone with Zack, and Lise has gone with Kalei—or Lei, as Zack had nicknamed him.

“Okay,” Darwin began, “You’re all going to hate us after this, but—”

Justine interrupted, “Oh, can I be the one to bring them the news that will drain all the hope from their eyes?”

“But why should you get to have all the fun?” Emilio asked.

Hester, arms crossed, rolled her eyes, “Stop terrifying the children, Justine.”

“You’re not terrified, are you?” She asked the juniors.

“I mean… Kind of?” Zack responded.

“It’s not scary, we promise, you just have to look each other in the eyes for sixty seconds.”

This was met with another series of escalating ‘what‽’s, however this time it was for different reasons. This was somehow worse than the trust falling activity. Sure, that was undoubtedly more dangerous, but this was just… Awkward. Nobody knew their partners that well—at least Baz and Teddy didn’t meet only just fifteen minutes prior. And Baz knew he was great at social interactions, eye-contact was always key, but sustained eye-contact? No. That was borderline creepy.

But it was okay. It was cool. He was Baz. He was cool. Besides, this was Teddy. Nothing had ever been awkward for them, not even when they first met—properly—and they had only known each other for… Wow, had it only been three days? That was the same time frame that the entirety of Romeo and Juliet was set in. Insane.

“Just do it, okay? It’ll be over before you know it.” Hester said, fishing her phone out of her pocket and opening what Baz presumed to be the timer app. There was a chorus of grumbling as the six of them begrudgingly sank into seating positions on the ground. She pressed a button, then announced, “Go,”

Silence fell. Baz and Teddy stared at each other.

It actually wasn’t as uncomfortable as Baz had been expecting it to be. He was reminded of how nice Teddy’s eyes were. He had always been confused by the colour periwinkle blue. Because that was undoubtedly what colour Teddy’s eyes were, but the periwinkle flowers that grew in his garden back home were definitely not that colour. He also noticed how, although these eyes apparently normally spent their days showing hostility, he had only really seen them as welcoming.

“So…” Teddy said slowly and quietly, “How is… life?”

“Life is… nice, I guess?”

He nodded, “Neat.”

“And you?” Something flickered in Teddy’s expression, but Baz had no idea what it was.

“Y’know, same old,” He responded instead.

“So… What’s your favourite hockey team?”

“The Leafs.” He replied without hesitation.

“Unbe-leaf-able,” Baz deadpanned.

“Never make that joke again,” Teddy deadpanned back.

“Well maple we shouldn’t be friends if you can’t appreciate my puns,” there was a brief pause, then he added, “Toront-you glad you met me?”

“Absolutely not,”

“Great to know,”

“How’d you know they’re the Toronto team?”

“I’m related to André and Lise, remember?” He rolled his eyes, “I probably know a lot more about ice hockey than I think I do,”

“Now compliment each other!” Emilio called out, then after no one spoke, “We’ll increase it to five minutes if you don’t!”

Baz cursed the fates.

“You have…” Baz trailed off, squinting, “A face.”

“A face‽” Teddy exclaimed in disgust, “Is that really all you could think of‽ ‘A face’‽”

And suddenly, everything was too hilarious. Baz felt the corner of his mouth twitch, trying to hide a smirk. Teddy’s mock offended expression crumbled. In an effort to try and stay serious, he pursed his lips, quite unnecessarily, seeing as his smile was very clearly showing through his eyes.

At the same time, they both burst into laughter. This was the first time Baz had heard Teddy laugh—it would have been really uncharacteristic if you had only known him by the angry wallflower façade he had up, but it really suited the person Baz knew him to be. He scrunched up his face, squinting his eyes shut. It was very soft.

“Are you okay?” Darwin asked, looking very confused.

That just made them laugh even more—neither of them could respond. Baz felt tears welling in his eyes, and he put the heel of his palms over them, still shaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I do realise how weird this chapter was. And I apologise for its name.


End file.
